Composting Primer
Composting is an easy job and doesn’t need a lot of space either. All you need is a big drum, a flower pot or even a big bucket works fine, a lid to cover the container, water and soil.
What can you use for composting?
Kitchen waste: Wet kitchen waste that includes vegetable and fruit peels, rotting vegetables and fruits, crushed egg shells, tea bags, corn cobs, coconut husk
Dry household waste: shredded paper, cardboard boxes
Gardening waste: Plant cuttings, flowers, cut grass without the roots, dried leaves, small twigs
What should you not use for composting?
Plastics, tetra packs, leather, Styrofoam, rubber, e-waste and electronic item, wood, glass, paints, cooked food, oil.
Here’s a step by step guide on how to make compost:
Drill a few holes all over a pot or bucket and, spread a layer of soil that is about 5 cm thick. If you have enough garden space, you can dig a pit and start with the process, except you don’t need to layer the pit with soil
Put all the kitchen waste on top of this layer
Cover the layer with soil properly as it prevents any unwanted odours and flies
Sprinkle some water on top to retain moisture. Do not add too much
Cover the pot with a thick lid or layers of rag, as this helps in retaining heat and moisture. You can also keep a dish under the pot to collect the water that might drain. You can use this water for your plants.
Repeat the same process the next day and keep on adding alternate layers of waste and soil until the bin is full.
Stir or turn the contents once or twice a week as it helps in aeration.
Your compost will be ready in about six to eight weeks.
You can make a series of pots like this and label them to keep on recycling. Label them accordingly with the number and date so you know when the compost is ready.
How do you know the compost is ready?
Once your compost is ready, it will start smelling like wet earth or the smell you get when it rains for the first time
It should be crumbly like a powder and should not have lumps. If it is lumpy, you can sieve it and use the chunks again for composting. It should neither be too dry.
It should not have fungal growth or moss.
You can use this compost as a fertiliser for your plants at home, or in the garden. You can also sell your compost in the market. more